Canada: Recent rain seeds optimism

The optimism meter rose among Prairie farmers and ranchers last week after widespread and substantial rainfall.

Only the Peace region of Alberta appeared to be left out of the event that dumped more than 100 millimetres in some places. Most importantly, the rain fell in the drought-affected regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Alberta beef producer Craig Lehr said his ranch received 60 to 75 mm. Based northeast of Medicine Hat, he has land east near the Saskatchewan border and south to the Cypress Hills.

“It’s been eight years in this area, to varying degrees,” he said of the drought.

“It’s not a drought-buster by any means. We need several of these systems.”

He is counting on the “rain makes rain” adage.

“In this part of the province, plan for drought, our grazing management or farming practices, but after so many years of it, it gets to be a challenge,” he said.

Farmers are at least seeding into some decent moisture, and spring pastures and hay land received the push they needed.

In Saskatchewan, agriculture minister David Marit said about 12 per cent of the crop was in the ground before the recent rain.

“With the rainfall that we just had over the last 10 days, pretty much 90 per cent of the province is either seeing abundance or very adequate moisture conditions,” he said during an event last week on a Regina area farm.

Marit said the rain improved the potential of this year’s crop, but more will be needed.

Levi Wood, who farms west of Regina, said the family farm has been “drought adjacent” for the last couple of years. Seeding began in good moisture, but there wasn’t a lot in the subsoil, he added.

“I think in general, for us, we have better potential at this point in the year than we certainly did last year or the year before.”

Several rural MLAs at the event said farmers in their areas were relieved to get rain. Blaine McLeod, a dairy farmer at Caronport and MLA for Lumsden-Morse, called the rain a godsend.

“The land that I farm is very sandy, and so we were seeding in dust when we started,” he said.

“I saw a report saying a multimillion-dollar rain. I would suggest it’s more like a multibillion-dollar rain for the province.”

Cypress Hills MLA Doug Steele said rainfall was varied in his corner of the province, but it mitigated the fire risk in the hills, filled the reservoirs and recharged surface and ground water.

“It’s been hard in our part of the world for the last few years, but farmers and ranchers are strong and they’ll get through it,” he said.

On the other side of the province, cattle producer and Cannington MLA Daryl Harrison said drought wasn’t a major concern, but it was drier this spring than usual.

“Now this rain kind of solidifies that germination is going to happen, and I just can’t say enough as a cattle producer what it does for our hay and pasture grass. It just brings it on.”

The Saskatchewan crop report issued May 9 but compiled earlier in the week said seeding was 12 per cent complete, behind the five-year average of 23 per cent. It was furthest advanced in the southwest and southeast at 23 and 16 per cent, respectively.

At the time, the Moose Jaw area had the most recorded rainfall at 103 mm. Topsoil moisture for cropland was rated eight per cent surplus, 79 per cent adequate and 13 per cent short to very short. Hay land was rated four per cent surplus, 74 per cent adequate and 22 per cent short to very short, while pasture was 73 per cent surplus to adequate and 27 per cent short to very short.

Alberta reported 18 per cent of the crop was in, which is ahead of the five-year average of 12 per cent.

Provincial surface soil moisture was rated as eight per cent poor, 28 per cent fair, 55 per cent good and eight per cent excellent.

Manitoba has reported above normal precipitation across much of the province, with drier pockets in the northwest agricultural region and the east, around Lac du Bonnet. Earlier in May seeding progress was about four per cent and delayed by the rain. Similar to the other provinces, pastures and hay fields were greening up and producers could begin to move pairs out.

Back in Alberta, Lehr said they will take another rain any time.

“With the moisture we got in the ground, as long as we don’t get any intense heat, this will go a long ways, but in another month or so, without any moisture, things will start to dry up pretty fast,” he said.

Last year was devastating because there was no spring moisture at all.

“Where I’m standing right now, you can almost watch it grow,” he said after the rain last week.

“It’s just flourishing.”

He typically runs 800 or more yearlings on pasture each year but has been running none or very few and spreading out the 1,200 head cow-calf operation, he said. They also have a backgrounding feedlot for 7,000 head.

Because his operation is diverse and large, he said they are able to withstand many challenges, but they still won’t put yearlings on grass this year so the land has time to recover.

“Another year like last year and it would even be getting scary for us,” he said.

“If we’re in trouble, I really worry where everybody else is at.”

Lehr and others are hoping for two or three large rain systems this summer, followed by a winter with decent snow and good runoff.

Tags: Alberta, Prairie, Regina, rainfall, Saskatchewan